We’re in a Natural Fiber Renaissance.

Wool is regenerative--it’s sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable.

Slow Fiber

Let me tell you how to select raw fleece straight from the flock.

Our ewe Florence produced a fleece that won her long wool class at a small show because I skirted the entire fleece lock by lock. Skirting is sorting off the undesirable edges, veg. and manure.

I left no ‘seconds,’ or short bits, vegetation, or manure.

I saw a natural beauty in the ‘clip’.

It was gray-silver natural colored with a beautiful, lustrous gradient, +3-4” in length of lock, and extremely uniform throughout.

A Hand Spinner wants her fleece:

• Highest quality

• Clean

• beautiful

• to Meet her function
  
  

Quality

Lamb is the best fleece and softness decreases with age.

Fleeces from sheep over a year old are still functional and can be high quality, however.

Ram fleeces are stinky. but Ram Lamb fleeces can be high quality and smell fine.

Beyond age, what makes a good  fleece?

Strength

no ‘break’, or weak fiber; passes the sound test 

Condition

clean, dry, absence of felted fiber, mildew, pests, removal of breech wool and seconds

Crimp

frequency of the waves of fiber within a staple

Uniformity

a fleece that has minimal variation from shoulder to tail with locks that present similarly throughout; largely genetic.

Length

short fibers are not suitable for spinning worsted yarns, generally +3-5 inches is desirable; too long is undesirable, considered ‘overgrown’ and increases chance of ‘break’

Handle

the pleasing way the fleece feels in hand

Brightness

just like it sounds: bright with a lack of yolk or yellow lanolin

Luster

shine, breed characteristic, Lincoln Sheep are known for their lustrous wools

Appearance

clean; free of stains, dung, seconds, vegetable matter (VM)

Weight

an adequate clip  Purchases are generally in $/# This is less important for Hand Spinners and more important for Show Fleeces.

If you’re buying a raw fleece you’ll want to only buy the best fibers- no breech, heavily skirted, but adequate amount for the project.

(remember washing or scouring fleece results in weight loss; even up to 50% in fine wools)

Starting out, certainly you could spend a lesser amount for a greater volume of lower quality fleece.

Now you know how to select a raw fleece and compare multiple fleeces.

Come to a Skirting Party!

I’m having a “Skirting Party”

April 23, 2022 from 11am - 2 pm at my farm. 

I’ll provide hands on learning and discussion about creating quality clips and preparing wool for show, sale, and processing.

The fee is $20 per person and a light meal will be provided.